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9 History Notes >  Chapter 4 Forest Society And Colonialism

CBSE Class 9 History Notes

Chapter 4 - Forest Society
and Colonialism
CBSE Class 9 History Notes Chapter 4 Forest Society and Colon

Chapter 4 – Forest Society and Colonialism will take

you into the forest. It talks about the growth of
industries and urban centres, ships and railways, new
demand on the forests for timber and other forest
products. Students will also get to learn topics such
as new rules of forest use, new ways of organising
the forest, colonial control, how forest areas were
mapped, trees were classi?ed, and plantations were
developed. The chapter will give you an idea of the
history of such developments in India and Indonesia.
CBSE Class 9 notes of History will help the students
to study the subject in a very detailed and concise
way. These CBSE Class 9 History notes are all
prepared by subject experts and have kept the study
material very simple, including the language and the
format.

Chapter 4 Forest Society and Colonialism

CBSE Class 9 History Notes

Chapter 4 – Forest Society and
Colonialism
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Why Deforestation
Deforestation means disappearance of forests and is
not a recent problem. It began many centuries ago,
but under colonial rule, it became more systematic
and extensive.

Land to be Improved
Over the centuries, as the population grew and the
demand for food went up, peasants started clearing
forests and breaking new land. British encouraged
the production of commercial crops like jute, sugar,
wheat and cotton. In the 19th century, the demand
for these crops increased. The colonial state thought
that forests were unproductive in the early 19th
century. So between 1880 and 1920, cultivated areas
and the expansion of cultivation showed a sign of
progress.

Sleepers on the Tracks

In England, by the early nineteenth century, oak
forests were disappearing. Search parties were sent
to India to explore the forest resources. Railways
spread from the 1850s. Railways were essential for
colonial trade and for the movement of imperial
troops. From the 1860s, the railway network
expanded rapidly. Trees started falling as the railway
tracks spread through India. The government gave
out contracts to individuals to supply the required
quantities. Forests around the railway tracks started
disappearing.

Plantations
Large areas of natural forests cleared to make way
for tea, coffee and rubber plantations to meet
Europe’s growing need for these commodities. The
forests were taken over by the colonial government
and gave vast areas to European planters at cheap
rates to plant tea or coffee.

The Rise of Commercial Forestry

British were worried that reckless use of trees by
traders and use of forests by local people would
destroy forests. Dietrich Brandis, a German expert,
became the ?rst Inspector General of Forests in
India. He realised that a proper system had to be
introduced to manage the forests and people need to
be trained in the science of conservation. But it
needed legal sanction. In 1864, Indian Forest Service
was set up in Dehradun in 1906. In scienti?c forestry,
natural forests, which had lots of different types of
trees were cut down. In 1906, the Forest Act was
enacted which was amended twice, once in 1878
and then in 1927. The Act of 1878, divided forests
into three categories: reserved, protected and village
forests. The best forests were called ‘reserved
forests’.

How were the Lives of People

Affected?
Villagers wanted forests with species of different
types to satisfy their needs of fuel, fodder and
leaves. On the other hand, the forest department
wanted trees like teak and sal suitable for building
ships or railways. Roots, leaves, fruits and tubers
were used for many things. In the forest almost
everything was available such as herbs, yokes,
ploughs, bamboo, etc. From the fruit of mahua tree,
oil was extracted for the purpose of cooking and
lighting lamps. The Forest Act meant severe
hardship for villagers across the country. People
were forced to steal wood from the forests. Forest
guard used to take bribes if they got caught. Police
constables and forest guards harass people by
demanding free food from them

How did Forest Rules Affect

Cultivation?
Practice of shifting cultivation or swidden cultivation
was introduced during European colonialism or
swidden agriculture. It is a traditional agricultural
practice in many parts of Asia, Africa and South
America. In shifting cultivation, parts of the forest are
cut and burnt in rotation. After the ?rst monsoon
rains, seeds are sown in the ashes, and the crop is
harvested by October-November. For a couple of
years such plots are cultivated and then left for 12 to
18 years. On these plots a mixture of crops is grown.
According to European foresters, this practice is
harmful for the forests. This type of cultivation also
made it di^cult for the government to calculate
taxes. So, the government decided to ban shifting
cultivation.

Who could Hunt?

People who lived near forests survived by hunting
deer, partridges and a variety of small animals. The
practice was prohibited by the forest laws and those
who were caught hunting were punished for
poaching. In India, hunting of tigers and other
animals is a part of the culture of the court and
nobility for centuries. The scale of hunting increased
under colonial rule to such an extent that various
species became almost extinct. Rewards were given
for killing wild animals. Some areas of the forest
were reserved for hunting.

New Trades, New Employments and

New Services
New opportunities opened up in trade. In India, forest
trade was not new. It existed from medieval period,
where adivasi communities used to trade elephants
and other goods like hides, horns, silk cocoons, ivory,
bamboo, spices, ?bres, grasses, gums and resins
through nomadic communities like the Banjaras. But,
trade was completely regulated by the government,
which gave many large European trading ?rms the
sole right to trade in the forest products of particular
areas. New opportunities of work did not improve the
wellbeing of the people.

Rebellion in the Forest

Forest communities rebelled against the changes
that were being imposed on them. Some of the
leaders of these movements are the Siddhu and
Kanu in the Santhal Parganas, Birsa Munda of
Chhotanagpur or Alluri Sitarama Raju of Andhra
Pradesh.

The People of Bastar

Bastar is located in the southernmost part of
Chhattisgarh and borders Andhra Pradesh, Orissa
and Maharashtra. The Bastar central part is on a
plateau and to the north is the Chhattisgarh plain and
to its south is the Godavari plain. Different
communities live in Bastar such as Maria and Muria
Gonds, Dhurwas, Bhatras and Halbas. The people of
Bastar believed that each village was given its land
by the Earth, and in return, they look after the earth
by making some offerings at each agricultural
festival. Local villagers look after all the natural
resources within their boundaries and people pay a
small fee called devsari, dand or man in exchange if
they want to take some wood from the forests of
another village.

The Fears of the People

In 1905, colonial government proposed to reserve
two-thirds of the forest in and stop shifting
cultivation, hunting and collection of forest produce.
Some people used to stay in forests by working free
for the forest department and these are called forest
villagers. Villagers for a long run suffered from
increased land rents and frequent demands of labour
and goods. People started discussing these issues in
their village council, bazaars, and at festivals.
Dhurwas of the Kanger forest, took initiative where
reservation ?rst took place. Bazaars were looted, the
houses of o^cials and traders, schools and police
stations were burnt and robbed, and grain
redistributed. British troops were sent to suppress
the rebellion. After Independence, the same practice
of keeping people out of the forests and reserving
them for industrial use continued.

Forest Transformations in Java

Java is famous as a rice-producing island in
Indonesia. But, there was a time when it was covered
mostly with forests. In Java the Dutch started forest
management. Villages existed in the fertile plains,
and there were also many communities living in the
mountains and practising shifting cultivation.

The Woodcutters of Java

The Kalangs of Java were skilled forest cutters and
shifting cultivators. They are experts in harvesting
teak and for the kings to build their palaces. When
the Dutch began to gain control over the forests in
the eighteenth century, they tried to make the
Kalangs work under them. In 1770, the Kalangs
resisted by attacking a Dutch fort at Joana, but the
uprising was suppressed.

Dutch ScientiIc Forestry

In the nineteenth century, Dutch enacted forest laws
in Java, restricting villagers’ access to forests. Wood
could only be cut for making river boats or
constructing houses. Villagers were punished for
grazing cattle, transporting wood without a permit, or
travelling on forest roads with horse carts or cattle.
Firstly, the Dutch imposed rents on land being
cultivated in the forest and then exempted some
villages from these rents if they worked collectively
to provide free labour and buffaloes for cutting and
transporting timber. This was known as the
blandongdiensten system.

Samin’s Challenge
Surontiko Samin of Randublatung village, a teak
forest village, questioned the state ownership of the
forest and argued that the state had not created the
wind, water, earth and wood, so it could not own it.
Soon a widespread movement developed. Some of
the Saminists protested by lying down on their land
when the Dutch came to survey it, while others
refused to pay taxes or ?nes or perform labour.

War and Deforestation

The First World War and the Second World War had a
major impact on forests. In Java, the Dutch followed
‘a scorched earth’ policy, destroying sawmills, and
burning huge piles of giant teak logs. After the war, it
was di^cult for the Indonesian forest service to get
this land back.

New Developments in Forestry

Conservation of forests has become a more
important goal. In many places, across India, from
Mizoram to Kerala, dense forests have survived only
because villages protected them in sacred groves
known as sarnas, devarakudu, kan, rai, etc.

Students can go through Geography, History, Political

Science and Economics note by visiting the CBSE
Class 9 Social Science page at BYJU’S. Keep learning
and stay tuned for further updates on CBSE and
other competitive exams.

Frequently asked Questions on

CBSE Class 9 History Notes
Chapter 4: Forest Society and
Colonialism
What is ‘Colonial rule’?
The policy or practice of a wealthy or powerful
nation’s maintaining or extending its control over
other countries, especially in establishing
settlements or exploiting resources.

What is a ‘Plantation’?
A usually large group of plants and especially trees
under cultivation is called a ‘Plantation’.

What are the effects of

deforestation?
1. Soil erosion 2. Landslope 3. Increased amounts of
carbon di oxide 4. loss of biological activity

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